Chapter 41

"Why are you asking me all these questions? I am no competition for you," I said, looking down.

"I already know that. There can only be one Belladona; there can only be one woman for César."

"I don't care about that man, and to be honest, you shouldn't either if Keylef has left to stay by your side."

"What did you just say?"

"Keylef is a good man, caring and respectful. Why are you here asking me about Mr. César and your life when you two are over?"

"Who do you think you are, little girl! A filthy pauper telling me what I should do."

"The right thing is what you should do, and if you don't love Mr. Keylef, don't hurt him because there are people who genuinely want to make him happy."

"Do you like Keylef?" My heart skipped a beat as I averted my gaze.

"What… having César, you fall for his cheap copy."

"He is not a copy!" My surprise was evident when I saw him stop behind Belladona.

"Mr. Keylef…" Without saying anything else, he turned and left. "Don't go, wait!"

"Oh, please… what I said was stupid, he's taken it so seriously," Belladona said as she watched him walk away.

"The stupid thing is thinking that César loves anyone more than himself. Mr. Keylef truly cares about you," I murmured angrily, clenching my fists. I longed for that love, so why did that cruel woman have it?

♡
**
César.**

I looked at her in silence beside me as the car headed straight to her work. Her silence suddenly unsettled me. It wasn’t just that; she seemed immersed in something that was killing her. In fact, I could say she looked sad. I left her alone with Belladona for about ten minutes, which I didn’t like, but I couldn't understand what could have been so bad that she was this quiet. What had Belladona said to her? Knowing Belladona, she had probably been sharp and hurtful… What exactly did she say? Now I wanted to know, but asking her would be strange, and I hadn’t yet thought of an excuse to make her quit that horrible job and come back to work for me. Wait… why on earth was I worrying so much about her again? I ran my hand over my face, disturbed by my own behavior. Once again, I wanted to know more about her, possess her time, her attention, and make sure her decisions were only mine.

"We’re here, sir…" she seemed to snap out of her thoughts and said quickly.

"Thank you very much for bringing me, Mr. César, and also for taking me to the doctor." I remained silent, watching her dull expression, and it stirred something within me.

"May I ask you something before I go?"

"What is it?"

"Don’t you like Miss Belladona? She told me you two are destined to be together."

"Why do you want to know that?" She fell silent, nervously fidgeting with her fingers.

"Is it because of Keylef?" She quickly looked up at me, and I felt a surge of annoyance.

"I just wanted to know why you broke up with her."

"We're childhood friends. Our families have known each other since I was a child, and that's why we’re so close. When we grew up, we decided to make our relationship real to please our families. We lasted three years."

"Why did you break up…?"

"Because Belladona lied to me… and I hate liars," I said bitterly, clenching my fists.

"She’s not a good person, but Keylef loves her… so maybe I should tell him as a friend, or you as his brother." That’s why she was so upset, once again because of my brother… the same person who abandoned her for another woman without looking back.

"He’s an adult; he’ll do what he thinks is best."

"When you love someone, you want what’s best for them! But you can’t see that, can you?"

"How are you talking to me?"

"Forget it!" She opened the car door and slammed it shut, but I got out of the car.

"Thank you for everything, you can leave now. Have a good day," she said, turning to leave, leaving me with the words stuck in my throat. I grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards me.

"Who said you can just leave like that?"

"I don’t work for you anymore, you can’t order me around. I appreciate everything you’ve done today, and I’ll pay you back for the hospital, but I don’t want anything more to do with you." I frowned, feeling a deep emptiness in my stomach.

"Fine…" I said, releasing her. She hesitated, taking a few steps back.

"Then, I’m leaving now…" Just as she was about to enter that fast-food establishment, I said,

"I remind you that your things are still at the mansion."

"I already told Joffre to give me time to collect everything."

"I don’t care. I want you to collect all your things today. Or we'll throw out the junk you have as pets and all the other crap in the cabin."

"They’re not junk just because you don’t care about them! How can you be so heartless as to throw away a small animal that hasn’t done anything to you?"

"Just as you have no problem disrespecting me, I’ll have no consideration for someone who is no longer my employee." I got back into the car, leaving her there on the sidewalk. I had made a decision, and I wouldn’t let her leave so easily, without consequences.